LARGE parts of one of the two former Keighley College buildings have been reduced to rubble.

Contractors brought in to demolish the disused premises at the junction of North Street and Cavendish Street have torn down much of the roof of the older part of the property.

Although the work to knock down the building started just before Christmas, actual external structural demolition only began at the start of this week.

As previously reported, an ornate stained glass window on the main stairs of the building is being preserved.

The old college building has been empty since 2010. It is being demolished to make way for a £9 million office block, meant to serve as a shared home for frontline services from several major public sector organisations.

Bradford Council has released details on planned road closures in Keighley town centre to allow the demolition to take place safely.

But it has stressed it is possible the closures will be not be necessary on all of the advertised dates.

A spokesman for the council said: "We began taking the slates off the roof of the building on Wednesday February 1.

"We'd finished asbestos removal on January 27. Until we’d completed that particular job, it limited what else we could do inside the property.

"Structural demolition started on the week beginning Monday February 6.

"Much of the demolition can be done behind scaffolding, without the need for road closures.

"It’s likely we won’t need to actually enforce all the road closures that we’ve advertised. Local businesses will be notified nearer the time.

"This is a 30-week contract, and the contract completion date is in early June of this year.

"Apart from the stained glass windows, all the surplus materials from the demolition will become the property of the contractor.

"The vast majority of this will be recovered and re-cycled by the contractor.

"The stained glass window will be removed by a specialist firm and will be put into council storage for later re-use."

Potential road closures advertised by Bradford Council have been announced for the following Sundays: February 19, March 5, March 12, March 19 and March 26.

If enforced, the closures will be between 6am and 6pm each day, but they will not apply to emergency vehicles.

Stretches of road affected will be: North Street from the roundabout at its junction with High Street to its junction with Alice Street; Cavendish Street from its junction with Lord Street to its junction with North Street; Lord Street from its junction with Cavendish Street for 50 metres in a northerly direction and Russell Street, Devonshire Street and Albert Street from their junctions with North Street to their junctions with Scott Street.

The Bradford Council closure notice adds: "Alternative routes for vehicles affected by the proposed order will be available via the unaffected section of North Street, High Street, Worth Way, East Parade, Bradford Road, Hard Ings Road and Skipton Road."